Check writer



March 19, 1935. J. w. CARLSON 1,995,022

CHECK WRITER Filed June 16 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 2.26. 4270 1451Lf/(ZZZK L'azi ozf &" .1? 69 I March 19, 1935. J. w. c'ARLsoN CHECKWRITER F' iled June 16, 1932 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Z3 l j jy 9/ Q7/3013 March19, 1935.

CHECK WRITER Filed June 16, 1952 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 J. w. CARLSON1,995,022

Mal ch 19, 1935. J, w. cARLsON CHECK WRITER Filed June 16, 1932 6Sheets-Sheet 5 March 1 9, 1935.

CHECK WRITER Filed June 16, 1932 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 .1. w. CARLSQN1,995,022

Patented Mar. 19, 1935 UNITED srsrss CHECK. WRITER John W. Carlson,Chicago, 111., assignor to Hezlman Manufacturing Gompany,

Chicago,

111., a corporation of Kllinois Application June 16,1932, SerialNo.6l7,553

14 Claims. (Ci. ll9'l) My invention relates generally to check writingmachines, and more particularly to improvements in the set-up andprintingmechanism for this type of machine.

It is an object of my invention to provide improved means for settingthe type wheels which may be operated more conveniently andmore rapidly.

A further object is to provide an improved type set-up mechanism forcheck writing machines in which a longitudinal slidable member operableby means of a stylus is employed.

A further object is to providean improved connection between thestylus-operated slide and the type segments.

A further object is to provide an improvedrepeat mechanism.

A further object is to provide an improved mechanism for operating acheck writer of the above mentioned type. Otherobjects will appear fromthe followin description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure l-is a plan view of the check'writer;

Figure la shows the stylus used for .operating the machine;

Figure 2 is a right-side'elevation of the check writerwith the outercasing-removed;

Figure 3 is a front elevation of the check writer, a portion of thecasing being broken away to show the operating parts;

Figure 4 is a rear elevation with. the back plate of the casing removed;

Figure 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on the line 55of Fig. 3; and

Figure 6 is a transverse vertical'sectional view taken on the line 66 ofFig. 5. r

The check writer of my invention comprises a. base 10 having rubber feet12 secured'thereto by brackets 14. A pair of side frame plates 16 and 18(Fig. 6) are secured to the downwardly extending flanges 20 of .aU-shaped plate 22 which is secured to the base 10 by screws 24. A pairof supporting brackets 26- and 28 are likewise secured to the flanges20. The workingparts of the machine are suitably enclosed in a casing,which may comprise-atop sheet ,30', front sheet 32, and rear sheet 34.

A pair of platens 36, 38 are adjustably secured to the base 10 in awell-known manner, the platen. 36 being adapted to cooperate with theserrated: type and the platen 38 with the matrix 40 of a payee name lineperforating mechanism. The matrix 40 is supported by a plate '42 whichhas upwardly bent ears 44'apertured to receive shaft 46. A ballcomprising apair of arms 48 pivoted on the shaft 46 and having a crossrod 50 is normally swungcounter-clockwise by means of a torsion spring52, with its rod 50 held in engagement with a cam 54 rigidly carried ona shaft 56. The shaft 56 is journaled in the side frames 16 and 18 andhas an operating handle 58 secured to its left-hand end. A torsionspring 66 (Fig. 4) mounted in a manner similar to the spring 52 normallydepresses the rear edge of the plate 42 and thus swings the matrix 40up-. wardly. It will be apparent that depression of the operating lever58 will rotatethe shaft 56 counterclockwise (Fig. 5), and through thecam 54 depress the. ball 48, 50 and-thereby force the matrix 40 intoengagement'with its platen 38. A stripper 62 is slidable in the platen38 and is adapted to remove perforatedrpaper from the platen.

A typesegment shaft 64 is mounted for vertical reciprocatory movement inslots 66 formed in the side frame-plates 16 and 18, the ends of theshaft'having washers 68 secured-thereto'to prevent axial movement of theshaft. A plurality of type segments '70 are rotatably mounted upon theshaft 64, each segment. comprising a gear sector portion '72 havingteeth '74,. and a type portion bearing numeral type '76. The typesegments '70 are separatedjby a pair of spacing washers '78. A slidablelogotype 80, and fixed logotypes 82 and .84 are'rigidly secured to theshaft 64 and bear suitable 'indicia, such as The Sum of 8, and, andCts.. A guide 86 is positioned adjacent each ofv the type segments,

having its upper end bifurcated to surround a sleeve 88 on an aliningshaft 90; and its lower end similarly formed to engage 'one'of theseparating washers '78. A pair of grasshopperv springs 89 are stressedbetween the rod 90 and the shaft 64 so as normally to move the latterdownwardly.

A plurality of set-upbars' 92 are guided for longitudinal movement on aplate 94. A plurality of vertical partitions 96 are secured at theirends to the plate 94. Each of thepartitions 96 has a horizontal portion98 forming a means to hold the bars 92 in place between their adjacentpartitions. The horizontally bent portions 98 also have marked upontheir upper facesposition designating numeralathe digits 1 to 9,inclusive, for the units, tens andhundreds denominational order, and. 0to 9, inclusive, fortheremaining' orders. The bars 92 have regularlyspaced re-' cesses" 100- formed therein which are adapted to receivetheendof a stylus 102. The bars also same means have numerals marked upontheir upper faces, one adjacent each of the recesses reading upwardlyconsecutively from 0 to 9 upon each of the bars. The numerals 1, 2, 3, 4and 5 appearing on the plan view of Fig. 1 are illustrative of thefigures which are marked upon the bars 92. It will be noted that thelower ends of the horizontally bent portions 98 of the partitions arecut away as at 104 to provide sight openings for these numerals.

Each of the bars has a finger piece 106 secured at its upper end, andeach bar is supported by a metallic strip 108, the bar being securedthereto by screws 110, or by any other suitable means. Each of thestrips 108 has adepending arm 112, the extremity of which projectsthrough one of a plurality of guide slots 114 formed in plate 116, whichis secured to the plate 94 by screws 118. A pin or screw projectsthrough the extremity of the arm 112 beneath the plate 116 so as to holdthe arm against upward movement. A rack 122, having its teeth engageablewith those of the segment 72, has a'yoke 124 secured thereto, the yokesurrounding the extremity of the arm 112 and being freely slidablethereupon. A pin 126having its opposite ends projecting from the lowerextremity of the arm 112 holds the yoke 124 on the extremity of the arm.From this description, it will be apparent that as the bar 92 is moveddownwardly, either by manipulation of the finger piece 106 or byengagement of the stylus in one of the recesses 100, this motion will betransmitted through the arm 112 to the rack 122, and'hencediiferentially set the type segment '70 in accordance with the positionof the bar 92. The operating handle 128 is detachably secured tooperating shaft 130 and the latter has a pair of short arms 132 rigidlysecured thereto. These arms are connected by means of links 134-to the.

ends of toggle levers 136. The other ends of'the toggle levers arepivotally mounted upon the type segment shaft 64. Links 138 supported attheir upper ends by shaft have theirlower ends pivotally connected tothe toggle levers'136 at a point intermediate the ends of thelatter bypivot pins 142. It will thus be apparent that by counterclockwisemovement of the shaft 130 (Fig. 5), the links 134 will be moved towardthe left and upwardly, thereby swinging the toggle levers 136counterclockwise around the pivot pins 142. The links 138 are free toswing about the shaft 140 so that the pivotal movement of the togglelevers 136 results in downward movement of the shaft 64.

Means are provided to ink the type '76. This means may be of well-knownconstruction, and comprises a pair of removable ink rollers 144 and aninking pad 146. The latter is carried on a slidable plate 148, to whicha pair of links are pivotally secured. Therear ends of the links 150 arepivotally connected to gooseneck arms 152 pivoted upon pivot studs 154.Each of the arms 152 has a slot 156 formed therein to receive a pin 160secured to the link 134. Thus, as the link 134 moves forwardly duringthe operation of the machine, the pin 160 will engage the walls of theslot 156 and swing the arm 152 clockwise about its pivot stud 154,thereby moving the links 150 and the inking pad 146 forwardly. Thelatter parts are retracted upon the return stroke by the A pair oftwo-armed levers 162 are rigidly secured to the shaft 130, the lower arm164 of each of these levers being adapted to abut against the shaft 46and thereby limit the stroke of the operating shaft. The upper arms 166of these levers 162 are arranged to engage a rod 63 which is slidablysupported in a pair of slots 170 formed in arms 172. The arms 172 arepivoted at their lower ends about shaft 46 and at their upper ends carrya bail 174 which has a transverse portion 1'76 which lies in front ofthe depending arms 112 of the set-up bars 92 and is adapted to slideupon the plate 116. The rod 168 is normally held at the lower end ofslots 1'70 by a tension spring 1'78, the lower end of which is anchoredto rod 180, the ends of which are secured to the arms 172.

A pair of arms 182 fixed to a shaft 184 have their mid portions lyingbeneath the rod 168 and their extremities normally resting upon theshaft '70. A torsion spring 186 (Fig. 4) normally holds the arms 182 intheir lowermost position. One end of the torsion spring 186 is hookedaround one of the arms 182 and the other end engages one of a pair ofstationary guide plates 188, which is supported by a rod 190 secured inthe side frame plates l6, 18. These guide plates have inward extensions192 which support the ends of shaft 46. The upper ends of the plates 188are supported by a rod 194 secured in the side frame plates 16, 18.

The logotype 80 is adapted to be moved by a wire-shaped lever 196 (Fig.4), which is pivoted about a stud 198 and has its upper end 200projecting through a slot 202 (Fig. 5) in an arm 204 of a bell cranklever 206 which is pivoted upon pivot stud 154. The other arm 208 of thebell crank lever is pivoted to a link 210 which has a bifurcated end 212which surrounds the end of one of the toggle levers 136. The bell cranklever 206 is stressed to move counterclockwise (Fig. 5) We torsionspring 214 which is wound about the shaft 130,

A repeat key'216 (Fig. 2) is securedto a key bar 218, the latter beingpivoted at 220. The. rearward end of the bar 218 is pivoted to an arm222 which is secured to the end of rod 184 by a screw 224. Theright-side casing plate 226 (Fig.

3) has a notch 228 out in the inwardly bent flange at the forward endthereof, the notch being staggered to form a shoulder 230. The key bar218 is adapted to be flexed slightly to the right (Fig. 3) when therepeat key is depressed, and thus engage beneath the shoulder 230 and belocked in depressed position. It will be noted that when the repeat keyis depressed, the rod 184 will be swung clockwise (Fig. 5) and the arms182, which are rigidly secured to the rod 184, will be raised andthereby elevate the rod 168 so that the latter will be held out of thepath of movement of the arms 166 of the two-armed levers 162.

The operation of the parts of the machine has been generally indicatedin the above description and the description of the operation of themachine will therefore be of general nature. To set up the amount whichit is desired to print and scarify upon the check or other document tobe protected, the operator may set the bars 92 by manuallygrasping thefinger pieces 106 or may utilize the stylus 102. The use of the stylusis recommended because of the greater speed with which the amounts maybe set up in the machine, The operator inserts the stylus in the recess100 adjacent the digit desired and slides the bar for.- wardly until themovement is arrested by abutment of the stylus with the upper edge ofthe casing plate 30. The bars may of course be thus operated in anydesired order but the higher order bars will usually be operated firstin writing sequence. Having set up the amount of the machine,theoperator may verifyhis operation by observing indications through therecesseslMx For example, Fig; 1 shows the machine as having theamount$123xl5set uptherein. Y

Forward sliding movement 0f the bars. 102 causes correspondingcounterclockwise rotation of the type sectors '70, the sectorsbeing heldin adjusted position by suitable'detent mechanism. The-amount havingbeen'set up, the operator swings the operating handle 128forwardly,rotat'- ing the shaft 130 counterclockwise (Fig. 5), therebycausing an imprinting and scarification of the-checkernegotiable'instrument which has been place-din position above the,platen36.1 During this operation the ink pad 146 is of course movedforwardly through its operating linkages so asto be re-inked-bytheinking mechanisml l i. During this downward movement of thetypesectors,t-he logotyperiid is moved to the right (Fig. 6) intoabutment with the highest order type sector '70 which has been operated,thus justifying the set-up. Upon return movement of the operating handle128, the type sectors '70 are raised by means of the-togglelinkage, thelogotype returnedto-normal position, and through engagement of arms 166with rod 168, the bail arms 1'72 are swung rearwardly, thereby slidingthe transverse piece 1'76 of the bail 174 to the rear to return bars 92to normal position.

When the repeat'key has been depressed the latter operation does nottake-place since the arms 182 will have raised the rod 168 so as toprevent engagement of the latter by the arms- 166; The bail- 176 willthus remain in its forward position, and upon repeated operation of theoperating handle 128 the same amount will be imprinted and scarifiedupon the checks. The use of this repeat key is of course desirable inconnection with the issuance of checks for payrolls and dividends andsimilar purposes, when a large number of checks for the same amount aredrawn.

While I have shown'and described a particular embodiment of myinvention, I do not desire the scope thereof to be limited to thisparticular construction but desire the following claims to include allsuch variations and modifications thereof as will occur to one skilledin the art.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. In a check writer, the combination of a platen, a plurality of typesectors having type spaced along a portion of the periphery thereof andengageable with said platen, each of said type sectors having a gearsector portion on the periphery thereof, racks engageable with said gearsector portions, a plurality of manually operable longitudinally movableslides each having a loose pivotal connection with one of said racks,and means for moving said type sectors against said platen.

2; In a machine of the class described, the combination ofdifferentially settable type carrying members, longitudinally'slidablebars operably connected with said members, said bars having a pluralityof stylus receiving recesses formed therein and digit indicia adjacentsaid recesses, and a guide for each of saidbars, said guide overlyingall except the lowermost digit indicia on its associated bar.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination ofdifferentially movable type carriers, a rack associated with each ofsaid carriers and engageable with the carrier to differentially set thesame, and a manually operable slide for each of said type carriers andhaving a slidable connection with -its associated rack thereby per--mitting lateral movement of --said "carriers with respect-to-said'bars.v

4, In a machine of the class described; the combination of a shaftg'aplurality of type carriersmountedupon-said shaft, each of said carrierscomprising agearsector portion and a portion having type secured at theperipheral edge thereof, a rack meshing with the gear sector portion ofeach of said carriers,manually engageable means for difierentiallymoving said racks, a platen, an operating handle having a forwardandreturn stroke, a toggle connection between said operating handle andsaid shaft for moving the latter downwardly'thereby to press said typeagainst saidplaten, and'a bail operativeupon thereturn stroke-of saidha-ndle torestoresaid racks and-carriers to normal position;

53in a machine of the'class described, the combination of a plurality ofdifferentially movabie'bars, each of said bars having a plurality ofrecesses therein for the reception ofa stylus,

a bracket secured to each of-saidbars; a plurality of racks each havingone end operatively connectedwith one of said-brackets, a plurality oftype carriers, each of said carriers having a gear sector portionengageable with one of said racks,-

a transverse bar positioned across the line of movement of saidbrackets,oscillatory operating means, and cam means for moving said transversebar upon the return'oscillationof said operating means thereby torestore any of-said bars which have been-moved from normal position;

6, In a machine of the class described, the

combination of a plurality of type carrying elements mounted forrotation upon a shaft, and means for differentially positioning saidelements, said means comprising a plurality of longitudinally slidablebars, each of said bars having a plurality of recesses formed thereinfor receiving actuating means, guide means for said bars, and a stopadapted to be engaged by the actuating.

means when the latter is positioned in one ofsaid recesses and movedthereagainst, thereby to limit the longitudinal sliding movement of thebar.

'7. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pluralityof differentially settable members, each of said members comprising abar having a plurality of recesses formed therein for receivingactuating means, means for guiding said bars comprising a plurality ofangle strips each having a vertical and a horizontal portion, each ofthe horizontal portions overlying a portion of one of said bars, a stopfor limiting the movement of the actuating means, and differentiallysettable type carrying elements operatively connected with said bars.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination ofdifferentially movable type carriers, manipulative means fordifferentially setting said carriers, restoring mechanism, an operatingshaft, cams on said operating shaft, a rod normally engageable by saidcams and operatively connected to said restoring mechanism to actuatethe latter, a repeat key, and means operable upon depression of saidrepeat key to move said rod out of the path of said cams.

9. In a check writer, the combination of a platen, a plurality of typesectors having type thereon engageable with said platen, each of saidtype sectors having a gear sector portion, racks engageable with saidgear sector portions, a plurality of recessed manually operated slideseach having a loose connection with one of said racks, and means formoving said type'sectors against said platen.

10. In a machine of the class described, the combination ofdifferentially settable type carrying members, longitudinally slidablebars operably connected with said members, said bars having a pluralityof recesses formed therein to receive actuating means and digit indiciaadjacent said recesses, a guide for each of. said bars, said guideoverlying all except the lowermost digit indicia on its associated bar,an operating handle, and means actuated upon the return stroke of saidhandle to restore said bars and members.

11. In a -machine of the class described, the combination ofdifferentially movable type carriers, a rack associated with each ofsaid carriers and engageable with the carrier to differentially move thesame from normal position, a manually operable slide for each of saidbars and having a slidable connection with its associated rack therebypermitting lateral movement of said carriers with respect to said bars,and means for restoring said slides and carriers to normal position.

12. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a shaft, aplurality of type carriers mounted upon said shaft, each of said car-Iiers comprising a gear sector portion and a portion having type securedat the peripheral edge .thereof, a rack engaged with the gear sectorpor-- tion of each of said carriers, manually actuated means fordifferentially moving said racks, said means being loosely connected.with said racks, a platen, an operating handle having a forward andreturn stroke, a connection between said operating handle. and saidshaft for moving the latter downwardly thereby to press said typeagainst said platen, and means operative upon the return stroke of saidhandle to restore said racks and carriers to normal position. 7

13. In a machine of the class described, the combination of a pluralityof bars having recesses formed therein, a bracket secured to each ofsaid bars, a plurality of racks each having one end loosely connectedwith one of said brackets, a plurality of type carriers each having agear sector portion engageable with one of said racks, a transverse barpositioned in the line of movement' of said brackets, oscillatoryoperating means, cam means for'moving said transverse bar upon thereturn oscillation of said operating means thereby to restore any ofsaid set-up members which have been removed from normal position, andselectively operable means for renclering said cam means inoperative.

14. In a machine of the classdescribed, the combination ofdifferentially settable type carrying members, longitudinally slidablemanually engageable bars operably connected with said members, said barshaving a plurality of recesses formed therein, means for eflecting aprinting impression from the set type carriers, operating mechanism foractuating said means, and means actuated by said operating mechanism forrestoring said bars upon completion of a printing operation. 1

JOHN W. CARLSON.

